Patients such as elderly patients or those afflicted by a disease or injury which limits their ability to move face many problems during a treatment process. One (1) particular problem associated with paralysis and numbness is that such patients experience constant pressure from their body upon their resting surface due to their inability to move, which can result in sores forming upon exposed portions of their skin.
Regularly changing of sheets or mattresses can help a patient to avoid infections, particularly skin infections, and to prevent the formation of ulcers. In many cases, the patient must either move themselves or is moved away from the bed by a caretaker to allow the sheets to be changed. This can be difficult for a caretaker who must attempt to roll or lift a patient and can aggravate the condition that placed that patient in this situation in the first place.
There have been many solutions to change the posture of a bedridden patient to accommodate various needs, such as utilizing a toilet. Many known solutions involve transferring the patient from a lying position to a sitting posture. However, this too involves some risk associated with the movement of the patient.
In many cases, such movement is further inhibited by the presence of medical devices which are affixed to various parts of the patient's body to facilitate tracking and treatment.
Various attempts have been made to provide patient beds which facilitate movement of a patient without the patient having to leave the bed. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,112,702; 5,699,566; 5,704,083; 5,737,782; 5,839,134; and 5,943,715.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such apparatuses are uncomfortable for a patient during use. Also, many such apparatuses include a movable portion which is difficult to access or which is not well adapted for use with bed linens. Furthermore, many such apparatuses include motorized portions or otherwise expensive constructions which are unnecessary due to the infrequency with which they must be utilized. In addition, many such apparatuses require a degree of movement on the part of a patient which is undesirable. Accordingly, there exists a need for a bed linen changing means without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.